Forget About Bart Didden: Westmore News Endorses Mayor Dennis Pilla For Third Term In Port Chester
Re-elect Dennis Pilla For Mayor
To Keep Port Chester Moving Forward
Two bright but starkly different candidates are running for mayor of Port Chester on Tuesday, Mar. 15. Both incumbent Democrat Dennis Pilla and Republican-Independence candidate Bart Didden, a village trustee since July, are motivated to do what they think is best for the village. Because of their sharply contrasting ideas on almost every issue, we need to keep them both on the Board of Trustees for a healthy balance of ideas. We therefore advocate returning Pilla, a moderate, to office for another two years. Didden, a registered Conservative, still has two years left on his term.
Since Pilla has been mayor over the past four years, the village has been going in a positive direction with a good management team, transparency in government, strong finances, a solid, comprehensive code enforcement program for the first time in the village's history, a good working relationship with neighboring communities and a forward-thinking attitude. Corruption is being routed out and the rebuilding has begun. There is no compelling reason to upset the apple cart.
The current board is comprised of strong personalities who, when they're not fighting, have had some healthy discourse on appealing the voting rights case decision and whether to use money left over from old capital projects for the purpose for which it was originally borrowed or return it to contingency are a few recent examples. Diverse opinions and healthy discussion make for good decisions. Eliminating Pilla's pragmatic voice and leaving an empty seat on the board which might not be filled until the next election in two years would be a huge mistake for the village.
Putting his career on hold and devoting all of his time to the job of mayor, Pilla has used his skills as a former management consultant to tackle the multitude of problems facing Port Chester. He took the lead on developing a downtown revitalization strategy being funded largely by grants which has only partially come to fruition. It includes new lights, trees, sidewalks, signs, trash receptacles, a facade improvement program, rezoning the central downtown district to eliminate industrial uses, enhancing the sidewalk cafe ordinance and entertainment regulations.
Pilla is also innovative, forging a first-time partnership with Purchase College and the MTA on a train bridge art project which is in the works. In addition, through his efforts, talented Purchase College graphic arts students are designing gateway signs to the village. Both of these projects will be paid for with grants and need Pilla's guidance to see them through.
Both candidates have their failings. Pilla's is a drunk driving arrest in New York City back in June 2009 for which he later apologized. That was a onetime personal issue. Didden's is the controversial 2007 flyer he authored which was deemed by the federal judge hearing the village's voting rights case to be a racial appeal. Much has been made of that flyer during this election campaign. However, it's not just the flyer and whether or not Didden apologized for it that should be considered here. It's a mindset of inclusion of all races, and we don't believe Didden has that mindset. He might be on his best behavior and trying to reach out to all segments of the community during this election campaign, but how would he treat new immigrants once in office acting as an ambassador for a village that is more than 50% Hispanic?
To Pilla, on the other hand, married to a Colombian, inclusion comes naturally, and he never fails to mention in a positive light the beautiful mosaic that is Port Chester and makes it so appealing.
Pilla has a forward-thinking attitude while Didden looks to go back to the way things were appealing the voting rights decision, for instance. Maybe that works in the short term during an election campaign but certainly not when it comes to the long-term health of the village.
We disagree with appealing the voting rights decision and wasting the taxpayers' dollars with little chance for success. We agree with Pilla that we'd be far better off negotiating with the Department of Justice to get staggered terms, for instance, than gambling on a very unsure bet.
Even though the majority of families living in the village have an income of $80,000 or less and would qualify for affordable (not low-income) housing, Didden is opposed to creating any more affordable units in Port Chester. He's even for doing away with the required 10% set-aside of affordable units within newly-constructed buildings of 10 units or more in residential zones which is currently on the books. Pilla is for changing but not eliminating what he calls an ineffective ordinance. He's for creating an incentive for developers to build affordable units rather than making it punitive and establishing an “in lieu of†fee which would go into a fund to promote single-family ownership and provide home ownership assistance. Didden's close-minded attitude could prevent the village from getting future federal Community Development Block Grants through the county which have been so important to Port Chester's forward momentum.
Village government has never been more open than it is today under the Pilla administration. The Board of Trustees, Planning Commission and Zoning Board meetings are broadcast live on cable TV and streaming live on the internet. We are concerned about the future of open government under Didden who often advocates for topics to be discussed in closed rather than open session.
Additionally, Didden has demonstrated that he won't work well with neighboring communities. He seems to have a contempt for them rather than an interest in seeing how they can work together for the benefit of each. In this day of federal and state budget cuts and a greater need than ever to share services, that attitude is short-sighted to say the least.
Pilla, on the other hand, was instrumental in getting the villages of Rye Brook and Mamaroneck and the Town of Rye to partner with Port Chester on applying for a $50,000 state Local Government Efficiency Grant to study whether to dissolve the Town of Rye. The grant was received and bids for a consultant to undertake that study are currently being sought. Even if the decision is made not to eliminate the Town, the study should be useful in identifying additional shared service opportunities across the participating communities.
Lastly, how can we elect a mayor who is unable to deal with the largest property owner in the village, downtown developer G&S Investors? Didden has been advised by village attorneys not to even discuss or vote on anything relating to G&S because of his ongoing lawsuit involving the developer. Pilla has been instrumental in that regard, encouraging G&S to do faux painting within the fake windows on the facade of its building on South Main Street, paving the way for the developer to finally improve the intersections for which it is responsible this spring, and working with G&S to help come up with a reasonable solution to the collapsing bulkhead behind Costco. Delegating such important authority to another trustee, as Didden has said he will do, is scary, especially when we don't know who that individual will be.
The Pilla administration has been the village's most productive in years even though, as the mayor himself admits, there's so much more to do. Based on his past record, Mayor Pilla deserves the chance to continue the positive momentum he has started for another two years.
PLEASE ALSO SEE:
THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2011
03/10/11 Journal News Slams Bart Didden And Endorses Mayor Dennis Pilla
On Election Day Tuesday, Port Chester Voters Should Help Put The Past Behind Them, And Re-elect A Mayor Who Knows How To Look ForwardThe race for mayor in Port Chester, one of Westchester's most closely watched villages, should be no contest at all — Mayor Dennis Pilla has done that outstanding a job the last four years, and as a trustee earlier. That it is, indeed, a race may say more about the resiliency of bigotry, mainly of the thinly concealed variety, than about his stewardship. Village voters should make a plain statement Tuesday that they support smart, fiscally responsible and progressive leadership, and vote to return Pilla for a third term. The alternative, Trustee Bart Didden, really is no option at all....
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